How to Become the Creative Employee of the Month

You went to a good school, got hired right away and have been working for a bunch of years now at a job that is, well, not that great. It was exciting at first: there were new skills to develop, new people to meet, the challenge of learning a new place. But now the work has become routine and kind of easy and while the job pays the bills, it’s not really how you envisioned your life when you were younger. Deep down you want to do more, be more; you want to be the kind of employee that makes a real contribution, who shakes things up. But lately, it’s hard to see how that’s possible.

Good news: you are in the perfect spot to do all of that, you just have to get creative. Top management is too busy doing the same old thing more efficiently to be really innovative and the young hires are full of new ideas but don’t have the experience to know which ones will work. You do. So, now you just need to use what I call creative intelligence, or CQ for short, to get started.

There are two simple truths about creativity. First, creativity is social. Creativity is something we do with others, not something that happens to us. It’s not about brain scans, genes or lone geniuses. It’s about connection, context and meaning. Second, creativity can be cultivated. Creativity isn’t rare, but it often goes unrecognized. Chances are you’re already creative but don’t think so (right?). You need to build up your creative confidence by practicing the skills of creativity.

The first thing you need to do is to identify what you offer that is unique and could be of value to your organization. We all have stories that we tell ourselves about who we are and what we can and can’t do. Pretty soon, we start to believe the stories–and so does everyone else. Usually, when you feel like you’re in a rut, you’re really just stuck in the wrong role.But you can reframe the narrative you present to the world by doing a “creativity audit.” Take a weekend to think about what you know–not just what you’ve learned in school (although that can be important, too) but what you’ve learned by being a member of a particular demographic or subculture. Many of the people we consider to be most creative–artists and entrepreneurs alike–are really just skilled at embodying the unspoken dreams of a larger generation or culture.

Ask yourself, What do you know that you’re not using at work that might create new value for the company? Do you “get” social media better than your higher-ups? How about skills? People who know how to make things, whether with a sewing machine or a 3-D printer, are in demand once again. What about your values? If you’re into sharing and community-building, how can you transfer that into your work?

In doing your creativity audit, don’t forget what you love to do–riding your bike, rock climbing, food photography, you name it. And here’s another good tip–ask a trusted friend to help you hold up a mirror to reveal what is special about you. The social aspect of creativity is key–even those “aha” moment you get while running or taking that long shower are the culmination of who knows how many interactions you’ve had in the past.

What you find in your creativity audit will most probably surprise you. I know a woman from a small Pueblo in New Mexico who wanted to apply to the world-famous fashion program at Parsons in New York. She had watched “Project Runway” for years, traveled to see museum shows and dreamed of becoming a fashion designer herself. But she had a family, hadn’t gone to a fancy school, and didn’t think she could compete against the young kids with great educations applying for admission.

What this woman didn’t see–and it took a trusted friend to point it out to her–was that she had already developed a crucial skill that gave her an edge in fashion. She could sew a perfect seam. She had years of practice making her kids’ clothes and she was a perfectionist–just like the famous designer Alexander McQueen, who was known for both the “savage beauty” of his clothes and his exquisite tailoring. Many of the younger Parsons applicants lacked this critical skill. This woman learned how to reframe her personal narrative by recognizing and highlighting creative skills she’d previously overlooked. She plans to apply to Parsons in the near future.

Just as you can reframe your personal narrative, you can also reframe the narratives of your business–or your entire industry. Innovators at Memorial Sloan Kettering, the renowned cancer-treatment hospital, discovered this when they set out to improve the experience of chemotherapy patients.

Traditionally, chemo patients have to travel to a hospital that may be far from their homes, sit in a sterile room with a bunch of strangers, get hooked up to the IV and wait for the chemical to drip into them. After the treatment is administered, they head home by car or the subway–just when they’re starting to feel nauseous.

A team led by Irish Maliq, then Project Manager of Strategic Planning and Innovation at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center reframed the chemo experience, designing a small, warm space with an Internet connection, music, comfy chairs, and nurses wearing street clothes. The treatment centers were actually less expensive and patients liked them more than than the hospital. MSK is doing research to see if the neighborhood centers improve outcomes. Maybe.

One great myth of creativity is that you need to brainstorm hundreds of wild ideas to get the right one. Actually, you just need to connect the right two or three ideas. In the case of Memorial Sloan-Kettering, that meant bringing the kind of comfortable atmosphere of a coffee shop to the unpleasant experience of chemotherapy.

To be creative, you simply need to know how to connect the right ideas. So try playing this game: take an area that you know well and try connecting it with something completely different. Shoe shopping plus the Internet equals… Zappos, right? Driving plus sharing gets you ZipCar. Traveling plus crashing with friends equals Air BnB. Sustainability plus cleaning products gets you to Method detergents. Try looking at different aspects of your product line or the services you provide and connecting them to other experiences, technologies, values and practices.

The wider you cast your net for new ideas, the better able you’ll be to see new opportunities for your company and your career. So carve out another weekend with one or two trusted friends or colleagues and play the “reframe game.” Write down the prevailing, conventional narratives of your industry. Then rewrite them. If eyeglasses + social media + fashion = Warby Parker, then what would happen if you changed the equation a bit: eyeglasses + fashion + 3D printing = ??? The possibilities are endless. The social dimension is key here, as well: by bringing a friend or two into the reframing process, the possible connections grows exponentially.

Top management rarely understands how much creativity exists within their organizations and hardly ever rewards it. But by reframing the story you tell the world about yourself and your company, you’ll show your true value. And if you can’t get your boss to support your ideas, well, there’s always Kickstarter.

10 Fast Ways to Boost Your Creative Intelligence

1) Find a creative friend. The social aspect of creativity cannot be underestimated. Spending time with creative peers can boost your energy and help you identify your own creative skills.

2) Map your creativity. Keep a daily journal about the places and activities that inspire you. Add something new one every month. Just changing the way you go to work every day can help.

3) Go for a long walk–or run or bike ride. Give yourself “zone-out” time to let your mind integrate all the new ideas you’re taking in. Creativity is social but still requires “alone time” too.

4) Conduct a “creativity audit.” Take a weekend to think about the knowledge and skills you have that you might be underutilizing. Dive deep into yourself. Bring a close friend to help.

5) Play the “reframe game.” Is your business or industry stagnating? Change the conventional wisdom about the way things have always been done and create something entirely new by connecting two previously unrelated ideas.

6) Find a wanderer. In their heyday, the labs at HP were hugely creative thanks to the founders’ policy of “managing by wandering around.” They choose promising research and championed it. Seek out the person at your organization who can help you bring your ideas into the world.

7) Become a wanderer. Find out what your colleagues and employees are thinking about and ask yourself: how can you help support their ideas? Can you become the person who makes things happen, whether by partnering with them or hooking them up with the right people?

8) Slow down. The rise in social media has left many of us longing for deeper, more meaningful experiences and engagements. There is an increasing need for people and organizations who can devise ways to help people simplify their lives.

9) Venture past the possible. We are often so accustomed to seeing things in a certain way that we’re blind to the possibility of something we can’t yet imagine. Set aside time each week to think about why things are the way they are, and imagine them differently.

10) Embrace uncertainty . There is so much change in our lives and in our work that it scares us, even paralyzes us. Yet uncertainty offers the greatest opportunities. With the right creative skills, you can make uncertainty a place of discovery for you.

Bruce Nussbaum is Professor of Innovation and Design at Parsons The New School of Design and former assistant managing editor of Businessweek. Nussbaum is author of the book “Creative Intelligence.”

About Speakeasy

Speakeasy is a blog covering media, entertainment, celebrity and the arts. The publication is produced by Barbara Chai and Jonathan Welsh with contributions from the Wall Street Journal staff and others. Write to us at speakeasy@wsj.com or follow us on Twitter at @WSJSpeakeasy or individually @barbarachai.